In 1991, the Task Force on Cooperative Education undertook a study regarding improvement of the cooperative education (CE) system in the United States. The first stage of the project entailed a mail survey of approximately 1,300 selected cooperative and professional educators, cooperative employees, and university state councils to determine current practices and future issues in CE. In the project's second stage, 20-member focus groups and regional panel discussions were held in Minnesota, California, Missouri, and Georgia. Several major CE-related issues were also discussed by a blue ribbon panel of four experts in CE. The survey and focus groups/panel discussions focused on the following aspects of CE: mission and rationale, existing strengths, changing audiences, motivation and funding, technology and materials, priorities for change, and change strategies. The primary purposes of CE were identified, and a plan for renewing/regenerating the CE system on the following three fronts was developed: making the required investments in CE (updating and expanding CE's materials base, educating its educators, and conducting performance-related research); improving national coordination; and expanding CE's base of support. (Appended are a statement of the task force's mission and major activities and lists of focus group and panel participants.) (MN)